Dak Prescott Contract: Cowboys May be Forced to Follow Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Route And Risk Losing CeeDee Lamb or Micah Parsons

The Dallas Cowboys have been bracing for this! This crossroads has been waiting for them ever since Dak Prescott inked his whopping $160 million deal back in March 2021. Now the time has arrived, and a big decision looms. With Prescott’s hefty $59.4 million cap hit on the horizon, tweaking his contract seems like the logical next step for the Cowboys.

However, Jerry Jones and the team’s brass are at a bit of a pondering point. They’re weighing up whether Dak’s the guy to lead them past those tricky playoff challenges. In the meantime, they’re keeping their feet on the ground, knowing that expectations need to be kept in check. They also need to address how they’re going to retain key players like CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. What are their options?

Retaining Dak Prescott might mean giving up on 1 player

Dak Prescott, for one, isn’t sweating it. In fact, he’s pretty upbeat about the whole situation. “I’m definitely confident,” he shared. “That is a process. Both sides understand that. Everything’s great. It’ll happen.” So far, it’s been a bit quiet on the negotiation front. Dak’s agent, Todd France, and the Cowboys didn’t hash things out at the recent scouting combine either.

Prescott’s cap hit is a whopping $59.45 million for 2024. That includes a $29 million base salary and a $5 million roster bonus due soon. Plus, there’s a no-trade clause and no franchise tag option for 2025 in that contract. So if they agree to retain him for that amount, they might have to give up on Micah Parsons or CeeDee Lamb in order to accommodate the QB.

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That’s even if they go for an ingenious, alternative way.

Dak following in the footsteps of Mahomes wouldn’t help much

Patrick Mahomes just made a big move regarding his contract. Adam Schefter shared that a little adjustment to Mahomes’ deal has magically freed up almost $22 million for the Chiefs. With that extra cash, the Chiefs got to work right away. They made sure Chris Jones wasn’t going anywhere by locking him down with a five-year extension. Now, all eyes are on CB L’Jarius Sneed. Word on the street is that the Titans are eyeing him up, but with this new cap space courtesy of Mahomes, the Chiefs might just be able to keep Sneed in the fold too.

It’s a bold move. Especially as the Chiefs have their sights set on something pretty historic. Winning three Super Bowls back-to-back! It’s a tall order, but with moves like these, it’s clear they’re pulling out all the stops to stack the deck in their favor. They’re on a mission to get the best talent on both sides of the field, and Mahomes’ contract tweak could be the key to making it all happen.

Maybe the Cowboys could take a leaf out of the Chiefs’ playbook. But they need to convince Dak first. And as writer Brandon Murchison said, that appears unlikely. Parsons is set to take home $5 million and $21 million in 2024 and 2025 respectively. While Lamb will take home almost $18 million in 2024. His contract expires in 2024. Will Prescott be willing to make the sacrifice needed to save at least one of his teammates? That might mean cutting down his “expectations” by more than half.

And he may be the only thing standing between a gutted-down team, and a team in strong contention for Super Bowl LIX. Which path will Dak choose to walk on?

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